Miss Crimond was sitting in Dad's chair which had once been Grandpa's chair; and Billy hated her. To Billy and all the families who rented her house in Back Tennyson Street, Miss Crimond was the arch enemy. Billy and his gang declare war.In between the street cricket and football, they go into battle.There is the firework down the chimney that fills the house with soot;the deliveries not requested by Miss Crimond, of coal she has to pay for and manure that comes up to her eyes. But Billy's campaign has unexpected consequences when he sees the night mare, the horse of his dreams, and finds out what a special and clever man his grandpa had been. . . Westall had an unsurpassed gift for writing about a boy on his own.In this rich, funny and evocative story of growing up on Tyneside in the 1930's, he is also the superb chronicler of the boys' gang. It is a gritty and realistic story but one where dreams come true.